Samsung announced the Transform Ultra for Sprint on Monday, an Android 2.3-powered smartphone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The Transform Ultra is powered by a 1GHz processor and has a 3-megapixel camera, a secondary front-facing VGA camera for video chat, a 3.5-inch touchscreen display with an HVGA resolution, 512MB of RAM, 2GB of on-board storage, a 1,500 mAh battery and support for Sprint’s 3G network. Neither Sprint nor Samsung have announced pricing or a release date for the Transform Ultra, al...

ARM announced the Cortex-A7 MPCore processor on Wednesday, which it is touting as its most power efficient mobile processor yet. The Cortex-A7 is just one-fifth the size of the Cortex-A8 but provides 5x the energy efficiency and greater performance. The single-core chip was designed for use in budget-friendly smartphones that will be priced under $100. ARM explained that it can create a system on a chip (SoC) with better performance and longer battery life by taking advantage of “Big.LITTLE” proce...

Android tablet vendors should follow Amazon’s lead and introduce lower-priced devices with Amazon content or exit the market altogether, one analyst recently suggested. Nomura International technology securities analyst Richard Windsor believes Amazon will dominate the cheap end of the tablet market with its new Kindle Fire, while Apple’s iPad will continue to own the high-end. Other tablet makers with iPad-like prices are still “living in denial,” Windsor said. “The main effect ...

Sprint announced on Thursday that it will launch the Kyocera Milano next week for $49.99 with a new two-year contract. The Milano is a very basic Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) handset with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It comes equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera, 512MB of memory, a 2GB microSD card and Wi-Fi hotspot capability. It also has a 3-inch display with a relatively low 320 x 240-pixel resolution. The Milano will launch on September 9th in tandem with the Kyocera Brio, a basic feature phone that wil...

Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models. Weber reconfirm...

While the Daytona 500 kicks off a race to the top each year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Nokia 500 is a race to the bottom. Nokia on Monday announced a new Symbian-powered smartphone that will aggressively attack emerging markets and smartphone users on a budget. The €150 ($217) Nokia 500 costs about what most popular smartphones do after subsidies, and it features specs we’re not used to seeing on entry-level devices. Highlights include a 1GHz processor, a 3.2-inch 640 x 360-pixel touchscree...

Images of what is claimed to be an entry-level iPhone 4 prototype have surfaced online courtesy of a site called Tinthe. The same site in the past published photos of an engineering sample white iPhone that featured what is said to have been a very early test build of iOS 4, in addition to having the white plastic MacBook before announcement and release. The iPhone this time around appears to be an iPhone 4-like device, except the user that uploaded the photos claims it’s more of an “iPhone 4 lite...

Apple has inked deals with numerous additional parts suppliers for its upcoming iPad refresh according to a new report from DigiTimes, further supporting the notion that the tech giant plans to unveil a new version of its market-leading tablet later this year. Citing industry sources, the report claims Taiwan-based component manufacturers including Novatek Microelectronics, Richtek Technology, Capella Microsystems and Integrated Memory Logic have been awarded contracts to supply integrated circuits for the iP...

Samsung’s newest budget Android phone is now available in the U.S. from T-Mobile. The Samsung Dart is a Froyo phone that sports a 3.14-inch QVGA display, a 3-megapixel camera with video capture support, 512MB of internal memory, microSDHC support up to 32GB and a 1,200 mAh battery. The specs clearly seem a bit dated, but for the low price of free on contract, this is a great budget Android phone for teens and first-time smartphone buyers. (more…)

On Thursday T-Mobile introduced two new Android phones that will be priced under $100 after rebates: the Samsung Gravity SMART and the Samsung Exhibit 4G. The Exhibit 4G runs the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system, has a 1GHz processor, a 3-megapixel camera, and offers support for T-Mobile’s 21Mbps HSPA+ 4G network. The Gravity SMART runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), has 3.2-inch touchscreen display, a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, and also offers a full four-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard. T...

AT&T officially announced the Pantech Crossover on Tuesday, Pantech’s first Android smartphone. The Crossover is powered by a 600MHz processor, runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), sports a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display, support for 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi networks, a 2GB microSD card, a 3-megapixel camera, and a 1,500 mAh battery good for up to five hours of use. It may not offer the best specs, but it does come with an affordable price tag. You’ll be able to pick up the Pant...

Trying to save a few bucks for your summer vacation? Today, Verizon Wireless officially launched “Unleashed,” the carrier’s own unlimited prepaid service. A spokesperson told Fierce Wireless that the service is available in parts of Florida and Southern California, to start. Customers can choose between four different plans — including daily and by-the-minute — but the most attractive offering is a $50 monthly option that provides unlimited calling, texting, and web browsing. There are o...

Images of what appears to be the unannounced Nokia C2-06 have been leaked by Hackintosh India. Judging from the photos, the C2-06 will be a new S40 device with a slider form factor that’s capable of accepting two SIM cards at the same time. A dual-SIM phone is a good option for frequent travelers, or for two people that want to share a single device with two phone numbers. The device appears to have a low resolution touchscreen as well as a slide-out full alphanumeric keypad. Given the lack of amenities...

Ahead of any official announcement, Samsung has published images and information surrounding its upcoming Android-powered Gem smartphone. The Samsung Gem is thought to be launching soon with regional carrier Cellular South, which currently has six Android phones in its portfolio ranging from the $49.99 HTC Hero 6250 to the $199.99 Samsung Galaxy S Showcase. While pricing for the Samsung Gem has not yet been revealed, it is expected to land among the mid-range Android phones in the carrier’s catalog. The...